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Wushu and kung fu, for a long time, was confused for one another.
This seeks to enlighten us about the difference between the two and
give their actual meanings. The misconception of the modern world
between these terms can be from the unfamiliarity with Chinese words
and characters.
In the Chinese language, kung fu can be used in
any aspect—may it be in carpentry, tailoring or others as long as
you have the skill required for the certain work or art. The hard
part about it is that kung fu has no exact English translation.
When Bruce Lee attained international stardom as
an action movie star in the 1960s, all Chinese martial arts came to
be known the world over as “kung fu.” However, Wushu would be
the more accurate word for it.
Wushu consists of all forms of the ancient
Chinese martial arts. It including the main styles with bare-hands [Changquan
(Long fist), Nanquan (Southern Fist), Taijiquan (Taiji Quan)] and
short weapons [Dao (single-edged sword), Jian (double-edged sword),
Taijijian (Taiji double-edged sword)] Nandao [(Southern single-edged
sword) and long weapons Gun (Staff), Qiang (Spear), Nangun (Southern
Staff)].
Traditional Wushu was used in Ancient China for
self-defense and hunting needs of the people. In 1949, modern China
aimed to nationalize the use of their traditional martial arts
giving birth to the modern wushu that is both a full-combat sport
and performance.
The International Wushu Federation aims to
further inform today’s world about wushu and established a number
of suborganizations in every part of the world. In fact, when they
established their South East Asia Wushu federation in 1994, Mr.
Benito Lim of the Philippines became their first president.
-- Angelique P. Manalad
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